Tag: Dam Fund

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday said any laxity by banks in collection of donations for Dam Funds will tantamount to contempt of court.

“The apex court of the country [Supreme Court of Pakistan] is monitoring progress in the matter of donations to the Fund. Any laxity by banks or their staff at branches will attract penal action and may also tantamount to contempt of court,” the SBP said.

The banks are therefore, advised to ensure meticulous compliance of above instructions and extend full cooperation to donors in deposit of their donations/contributions, the SBP added.

The central bank said that in a recent hearing of the subject case, the Honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan has observed that there are complaints that banks are not accepting donations from people contributing to the Dam Fund, and are also not actively facilitating donors in remittance of the funds stuck abroad.

In order to address the issues being faced by donors, banks are advised to ensure that the arrangements made for collection of donations and contributions to the Dam Fund shall remain in place at every bank branch on an ongoing basis; requiring all concerned to provide necessary support and facilitation to donors.

The banks are further directed to ask their overseas branches to facilitate the donors in depositing and remittance of donations to the Fund in accordance with the legal and regulatory framework of concerned jurisdiction.

The banks shall display SBP’s helpline number and email address on their websites and branch notice boards for lodging of complaints by donors if they face any difficulty in depositing and contributing to the Fund.

KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Wednesday directed banks to facilitate people in depositing their donations for Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dam Fund.

The SBP said that in compliance with the directives of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the Constitution Petition No.57/2016, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) vide Circular No. 04 dated July 10, 2018 and Circular No. 07 dated September 7, 2018 prescribed the mode, manner and channels for collection and deposit of donations to the subject Fund.

Specifically, following channels were made available to the domestic donors:-

a) Counters of the banks: Donors may deposit their donations and contributions at the counters of any branch of any bank in Pakistan, including microfinance banks, and remittance of donation so deposited to the principal account of the Fund at SBP within 30 minutes through Pakistan Real- time Interbank Settlement Mechanism;

b) Alternate Delivery Channels (ADCs): In order to facilitate donors and to obviate the need to visit the branches; Internet Banking, Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) and other ADCs were also activated for collection and subsequent remittance thereof to the Fund Account at SBP; and

c) Branchless Banking: The commercial and microfinance banks offering Branchless Banking (BB) were directed to facilitate the donors in depositing donations through their BB agents.

Similarly, Overseas donors were facilitated to deposit their donations by using any of the following channels:-

a) Wire transfer to SBP Nostro account with NBP, New York;

b) Transfer through Money Service Bureaus, Money Transfer Operators and Exchange Houses;

c) Deposit of donations at Pakistan Missions and Embassies abroad;

d) Deposit of donations at branches of domestic banks abroad; and

e) Transfer through Debit/Credit Cards

The apex court in its recent hearing observed that donors still encounter difficulties in depositing their donations, both locally and overseas.

The banks are directed that instructions, so far issued on the subject, vide circulars referred above must be meticulously complied with especially with regards to display of banners and panaflex advertising “DONATIONS TO THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN AND PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN’S DIAMER BHASHA AND MOHMAND DAMS FUND ARE ACCEPTED HERE”.